Meet Our Amazing Team

We are a group of passionate animal lovers who are thankful for the opportunity to take care of your pets. Always professional, we strive to give you and your pet the best veterinary care possible.

If you think you would be a great fit as part of our team, send us your resume to:
[email protected]

Ryan Carpenter, DVM

Practice Owner

Dr. Ryan comes to work every day because he loves to meet and interact with people that love animals as much as he does! He graduated from Michigan State in 2011 and have practiced at Family Friends ever since. His interests include anything Bulldog, dermatology, surgery and canine reproductive. He currently serves as the Chair of the Michigan Animal Health Foundation, which is the funding arm of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association. Outside of Family Friends, he enjoys traveling with his wife, Marcia, landscaping, cooking, and snowmobiling. Together, they have 3 kids: Reese, Blake, and Wesley. Their fur family includes our cattle dog mix, Bradley and two Scottish fold cats- Milton and Mirabel.

Kathryn Sutphen, DVM

Practice Owner

Dr. Sutphen followed her dad's footsteps into veterinary medicine. She has worked at multiple practices in Michigan bringing her compassion and expertise to Family Friends in 2010. Dr. Sutphen enjoys surgery, including cleft palate repairs, dentals and acupuncture. She lives nearby with her husband, daughter and 2 dogs (English Bulldog Watson and French Bulldog Bunny).

Katie Johnson, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Johnson loves to play an integral part in ensuring a happy, healthy life for your beloved pets. She graduated from Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013 and complete a one-year rotating internship with BluePearl Veterinary Specialists. She was drawn to general practice for the ability to nurture the human- animal bond and the lifelong client/patient relationships. In the hospital setting, she enjoys seeing a broad variety of cases, but she is most interested in neurology and emergency medicine. She lives on a farm in Ada with her husband, Kirk, her Golden Retriever, Tikka, 2 cats and 2 horses.

Christina Cooper, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Cooper comes to work every day understanding the great privilege it is to be able to make a difference in the quality of life of the dogs and cats who do so much to enhance our own lives. She is a proud Michigander, having grown up on the east side of the state before moving to East Lansing to attend Michigan State University, where she graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011 alongside her two very good friends Dr. Ryan and Dr. Marcia. She then migrated west to Grand Rapids for a small animal rotating internship at BluePearl Veterinary Hospital. She subsequently fell in love with West Michigan and never left. She practiced at BluePearl as an emergency doctor for six years before transitioning to general practice with the wonderful team at Family Friends. Her favorite part of coming to work is getting to know people and their pets and helping them to feel good! Dr. Cooper especially has an interest in cardiology, emergency medicine, feline medicine and caring for our geriatric pets. Outside of the veterinary world, she loves to spend time with her family including her husband, two amazing and energetic sons, a sweet old Labradoodle named Pete, a beautiful Standard Poodle named Faye, and two mischievous senior Siamese cats Ramone and Max. She loves to travel to "Up North" Michigan, garden, canoe, shuffle her kids to various activities, and attend sporting events - especially to cheer on the Spartans, Tigers, and Red Wings!

Kelli Davis, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Davis has been part of the Family Friend's team since 2018, shortly after graduating from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She is passionate about caring for every pet as if they are her own and ensuring they have the best quality of life. In her free time, Dr. Davis enjoys spending time up north with her family, playing tennis, reading and being active outdoors with her Lab, Betty.

Marcia Carpenter, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Marcia received her DVM from Michigan State in 2011 alongside her husband, Dr. Ryan and good friend, Dr. Cooper! She has a passion for emergency medicine, toxicology and soft tissue surgery. She has a special place in her heart for terriers and our feline friends. Dr. Marcia joined the Family Friends staff in 2019 when our Urgent Care service was established. She loves to run and has dabbled in triathlons. She is a proud mom to three little Carpenters, one girl, and two boys! Her furkids include her mixed breed dog, Bradley and two cats, Milton and Mirabel.

Brooke Hagen, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Hagen grew up in Northern Michigan and completed her undergraduate studies at Michigan State University, Go Green! She couldn’t stay away from the atmosphere of the mid-west but relocated to Champaign-Urbana where she graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. When she's not in fur covered scrubs, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Bennett and their black lab, Maple. Their favorite place to be is walking the shores of Lake Michigan, hunting for Petoskey stones while Maple jumps in the waves. Dr. Hagen strives to ensure all of the families she work with are educated and feel confident in the decisions they are making for their fur family members ensuring they live a long, happy life.

Leah Williams, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr Williams is passionate about providing excellent care to both her animal patients and clients. She strives to form meaningful and long-lasting relationships with our clients and truly loves to watch their pets and families grow together. She feels incredibly lucky that to spend every day helping amazing people by helping their pets live a long, happy, and healthy life.
Leah grew up in West Michigan and attended Michigan State University for her undergraduate education. She moved out west to follow her dreams and attend Veterinary School at Colorado State University, where she graduated in 2021. Leah worked at Family Friends for a few years prior to attending vet school and was ecstatic to move back to Michigan and re-join the team at Family Friends as a Veterinarian after graduation. She truly believes the team at Family Friends is the best and loves coming to work every day with such a knowledgeable, caring, and hard-working staff.
She enjoys working in general practice to see all types of cases, but especially has an interest in dermatology, surgery, and reproduction.
Her favorite part of coming to work every day is seeing the awesome bond between people and their pets and knowing that she get to help pets when they need it most.
When she's not at the clinic, she loves to go to the beach, garden, cook and bake, try new breweries and hang out with her two pups, Oatmeal and Raisin.

She looks forward to meeting you and your awesome four-legged family members!

Anna Bommarito, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Our pets truly enhance our lives. Dr. Bommarito feels privileged and honored every day to be able to care for many families' furry loved ones. They enrich our joys, support us in grief, and teach us about love and loyalty! Dr. Bommarito completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) where she got her Bachelor of Arts in Dance of all things! She then went on to get her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee. She was fortunate enough to complete an externship at Family Friends during her 4th year of veterinary school! She fell in love with the atmosphere and truly respected the commitment and care this hospital puts forth to each appointment! Although Dr. Bommarito was born and raised in the sunshine state, Michigan is certainly not foreign to her (okay except maybe Michigan winters). She is lucky enough to have lots of family in this beautiful state! So when she's not at the hospital treating her patients, she enjoys spending time at Lake Michigan, exploring new restaurants, attending sporting events, and spending time with family!

Kristyn Stankiewicz, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kristyn comes to work every day in awe that she is finally able to have a career she is passionate about, where every day, despite the trials of the job she leaves happy and proud. As most veterinarians Kristyn always had a passion for animals and science, however it wasn't until she found her dog Mica, who was more than a dog but a support system, a motivator and her true inspiration to find her second career, veterinary medicine. Dr. Kristyn originally worked happily in the Grand Rapids service industry where she grew her culinary and wine knowledge and got to work daily with the community. Developing close relationships with people in Grand Rapids allowed her to get through veterinary school and brought her where she is today, working with the amazing team at Family Friends Veterinary Hospital. In her time here Kristyn has developed an interest in emergency medicine, orthopedics and surgery though she will never forget her roots in shelter medicine. Kristyn still loves good food and beverage and enjoys traveling and trying new restaurants around GR. Typically, Kristyn spends most of her time at home working on her house, in her yard or at the beach with her partner Brandon and two dogs, Lou the greyhound and Danny Tanner the beagle mix. Dr. Kristyn also has two friendly and playful long-haired cats and though dogs hold a special place in her heart she loves working with her feline patients. Kristyn can't wait to see all your fur babies and tell them how much she loves them!

Mitch Zachos, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

David Chase, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Chase graduated in May 2023 from MSU's CVM with an MBA. He has spent many years shadowing the Veterinarians at Family Friends before eventually joining the team in Spring of 2021! Since then, he has worked on gaining technical skills in general practice, urgent care and reproduction and will soon be PennHip certified. In his down time, he enjoys showing/breeding his Rhodesian Ridgebacks alongside his wife and family.

Meagan Duck, DVM

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Meaghan graduated in May 2023 from MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. She has been part of the Family Friends team as an exam room technician since July 2021, gaining technical skills in both general practice and urgent care. At home, she has a variety of critters including Anatolian Shepherds, a few house cats, dairy goats and Icelandic sheep. In her down time, she enjoys attending dog shows with her Anatolian Shepherds and working out in her garden.

Jessica, LVN

Practice Manager

Tabitha

Operations Manager

Samantha

LVN, Nurse Team Lead

Tim

LVN, Nurse Team Lead

Anastasia

LVN, Nurse Team Lead

Kaitlin

LVN, Inventory Manager

Susan

LVN, Reproductive Lead

Erika K

Veterinary Technician

Jacqi

Veterinary Technician

Kim

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Julie

Veterinary Technician

Taylor

Veterinary Technician

Kate

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Kristin

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Nelae

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Ashley

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Sydney

LVN, Reproductive

Erika

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Hailey

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Sara

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Amanda

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Monica

Veterinary Technician

Victoria

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Lexi

Veterinary Technician

Pam

Veterinary Technician

Mercedes

Veterinary Technician

Autumn

Veterinary Technician

Olivia

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Annalyse

Licensed Veterinary Nurse

Gabby

Veterinary Technician

Jenny

Veterinary Technician

Paige

Veterinary Technician

Eliana

Veterinary Technician

Nate

Veterinary Assistant

Peter

Veterinary Assistant

Rachel

Veterinary Assistant

Sarah

Veterinary Assistant

Mahree

Veterinary Assistant

Meredith

Veterinary Assistant

Riley

Veterinary Assistant

Shilee

Veterinary Assistant

Kate

Media & Technology Coordinator

Aryssa

Customer Service Represntative

Sarah

Customer Service Representative

Briana

Customer Service Representative

Emily G

Customer Service Representative

Lorri

Customer Service Representative

Erin

Customer Service Representative

Ali

Customer Service Representative

Sharee

Customer Service Representative

Emma

Customer Service Representative

Desiree

Customer Service Representative

Kaila

Customer Service Representative

Emily N

Customer Service Representative

Hana

Custodial

Debbie

Custodial